Survivor’s pension

The survivors’ pensions are paid to persons who have lost a spouse, former spouse or parent (father/mother). Entitlement to a survivor’s pension starts on the first day of the month following the death.

General conditions of eligibility for receiving a survivor’s pension:

An OASI survivor’s pension is payable if:

The deceased has paid contributions for at least one year, or
The deceased qualifies for one year of parental or care credits, or
The deceased’s spouse has paid at least twice the minimum contribution.

There are three types of survivors’ pensions:

widow’s pension
widower’s pension
Orphan’s pension

Widow’s pension

Conditions for a married woman:

you have a child (minor and/or adult) at the time of being widowed or
you are at least 45 years old at the time of your spouse’s death and you have been married for at least 5 years. If you have been married more than once, the years of marriage will be added together

Conditions for a divorced woman:

you have a child (minor and/or adult) and the marriage lasted for at least 10 years or
you were over the age of 45 at the time of the divorce and the marriage lasted for at least 10 years or
you are over the age of 45 when the youngest child turns 18 or
if you have a minor child, you are entitled to the pension until the youngest child reaches the age of 18

If you remarry, you are no longer entitled to a widow’s pension.

Widower’s pension

Conditions for a married man:

widowhood occurred after 11 October 2022 and you have a child who is minor and/or adult at the time of widowhood
widowhood occurred before 11 October 2022 and you have a child who was under the age of 18 on 11 October 2022

Condition for a divorced man:

see this page of the OFAS (in French) Rentes de veuf de l’AVS : arrêt de la CEDH

If you remarry, you are no longer entitled to a widower’s pension.

Orphan’s pension

Conditions for an orphan's pension:

the deceased parent paid OASI contributions for at least one year
the child is under the age of 18
the child is between 18 and 25 and in training, studying or doing an apprenticeship

Request for a survivors’ pension